NIC Himachal Pradesh has been at the forefront in ICT support during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, which is affecting the entire world. NIC HP officers have contributed jointly in various capacities to assist the State and District Administration in their efforts to control the epidemic.
Covid-19 Collection Centre Portal and Apps Dr. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC assigned the responsibility of quickly developing two mobile apps on Android and iOS (Apple) platforms for RT-PCR and Rapid Antibody Tests being conducted for Covid-19, along with an authorization and MIS portal. The State NIC team, in collaboration with NIC Headquarter teams, have been able to meet these targets and developed the RT-PCR and RATI mobile apps as well as the portal at https://covid19cc.nic.in in a very short time. The entire country is using RT-PCR and portal to collect correct details of RT-PCR samples in Specimen Referral Form. More than 1.5 lakh samples are being collected daily through the RT-PCR app now. Many MIS reports and download features are available for sample collectors, collection centres, ICMR authorized laboratories, State and District Administrative/ Health officers and ICMR where the entire data is made available on a real-time basis. In Himachal Pradesh, 100% samples are sent through RT-PCR app.
Video Conferencing Facility During this period of Covid-19 pandemic during the complete lockdown and even after lockdown the restrictions like social distancing which is of prime importance, the NIC VC facility has been utilized extensively by the State Government. Hon’ble Chief Minister has been regularly interacting with District Administration, Cabinet colleagues and Block/Panchayat level officials and public representatives. The NIC VC facility has been integrated with Webex to enable below district level VCs.
Budget and Expenditure through eBills in IFMS During this financial year, regular clearance of treasury bills (including monthly salary and pension) could be ensured using the NIC developed eBill module of IFMS system used by the 5000+ DDOs. These DDOs were working from home and it involved electronic payment authorization by respective treasuries through banks. The online budget distribution for the new financial year could also be carried out during this period through eVitran module of IFMS.
Welfare pensions/Relief to unemployed youth The welfare pensions to the needy section of the society and unemployment /skill development allowance were timely disbursed to 6 lakh plus eligible persons in the State using eKalyan and EEMIS software which are integrated with IFMS. The Hon’ble Chief Minister also held Webex based interaction with the workers registered with the HP Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board to motivate them in this difficult time.
COVID-19 ePass System and Surveillance of Citizens in District Kangra Shri Rakesh Prajapati, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra took the initiative to utilize Service Plus framework for configuring the Covid-19 ePass Surveillance System for citizens of Kangra District. The Service Plus Team at New Delhi, in coordination with Sh. Bhupinder Pathak, Scientist-F/DIO Kangra completed the task in a very short time and implemented the system having various features. The system has been appreciated in many national magazines and newspapers. Later, many other Districts also onboarded this system. So far, more than 3 lakh ePasses to incoming visitors have been issued, which is about 4.3% of the State population.
Health Passes for Drivers of Utility Vehicles Dr. Richa Sharma, IAS Deputy Commissioner, Kullu got an innovative software developed through NIC Kullu for issuing Health passes to the drivers of utility vehicles while going out and coming in the District. This was done to ensure that only Covid-19 free drivers may drive the utility vehicles to curb the spread of the virus. 1257 such Health passes were issued during the initial lockdown period when the movement of essential items was crucial for maintaining supplies in the Districts.
Other major initiatives of NIC Himachal Pradesh during the COVID-19 pandemic • Support on Aarogya Setu App and associated portal (20% downloads) • Designing of COVID-19 posters or public awareness • Managing District Control and Command Centres of Administration • PMKISAN beneficiary mapping with Land Owners, an integrated module developed for unique farmer ID generation • Website updates on all NIC hosted sites • Email-based help to citizens on regular basis in all Districts
Himachal Pradesh has been successful in containing the spread of Coronavirus in the State through effective measures taken for contact tracing, monitoring quarantine of suspect persons and better health services. And NIC support has been crucial in it!
“NIC’s VC system has enabled the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh to reach out to the elected representatives of all 3,000 plus Panchayats of State, in an easy and interactive manner, to know their problems during the Covid-19 pandemic and provide timely solutions. NIC’s VC services and teams are commendable.” – Dr. R.N. Batta, Advisor to Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of Himachal Pradesh
“I must compliment NIC for developing the ePass system in a very short time on NIC’s Service Plus platform and quickly replicating it in many Districts of the State. Otherwise also, in every ICT activity in the District, NIC has risen to the occasion and provided superb support to the Administration in addressing all kinds of Covid-19 related ICT issues.” – Rakesh Prajapati IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra at Dharamshala, HP